Senator pushes Marijuana Banking Bill amendment to provide industry access to Small Business Administration services

A Democratic Senator says she wants to amend a bipartisan marijuana bank bill to include provisions that allow cannabis businesses access to federal Small Business Administration services (SBA).

Sen. Jacky Rose (D-NV), said on Tuesday, that lawmakers must “fully support legal-operating small cannabis businesses & that includes giving them access [SBA] resources & loans.”

We must support cannabis-based small businesses that are legally operating. This means providing them with @SBAgov resources & loans.

That’s why we must include my bill to level the playing field for these small businesses in the bipartisan SAFE Banking Act.https://t.co/sc05geMNds

— Senator Jacky (@SenJackyRosen). 16 May 2023

The senator shared a link to a recent Marijuana Moment op/ed where Minority Cannabis Business Association board member Tahir Johnston argued in favor of expanding the legislation to include SBA assistance.

Johnson responded to Rosen’s tweet on Tuesday by telling Marijuana Moment, “both supporters and opponents oppose the creation of a big tobacco of marijuana.”

He said that the best way to combat this is by launching a powerful offensive, which would include support for diverse and small businesses owned locally and armed with the SBA’s tools and resources.

It remains to be determined if the banking bill will include Rosen’s SBA standalone legislation. This has not been re-filed this session. Discussions have focused on passing the SAFE Banking Act as a stand-alone bill, and then attaching justice-related provisions, such as expungements of prior cannabis convictions.

Rosen has explored other options for SBA reform. In March, he led a letter that asked Senate Appropriators to include language in the spending legislation in order to open up financial services to the marijuana industry.

The Senator’s legislation was integrated into a comprehensive marijuana legalization bill that was filed by Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) last.

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A second legalization bill, which passed twice through the House in recent sessions, would have allotted cannabis tax revenues to support a SBA program that provides licensing grants to localities and states that have taken steps to expunge prior marijuana convictions.

Last week, the SAFE Banking Act received preliminary consideration by the Senate Banking Committee. Schumer stated that he would like to be scheduled “in the near term”, so that the bill can move forward.

The Senate is to make amendments to the law . This includes the Harnessing Opportunity by Pursuing Expungement Act (HOPE Act), which provides federal grants to localities and states that promote cannabis clemency.

Sherrod Brown, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee (D-OH), said that senators were planning to “move swiftly” with respect to SAFE Banking Act.

Both Senators from both sides of the aisle are pushing for immediate action to be taken on the standalone bill that would protect banks who work with state-legal marijuana businesses from being penalized.

An op-ed written by a former top Schumer aide for Marijuana Moment explains why the new composition of the 118th Congress improves the chances of passing the SAFE Banking Act.

Schumer has stated his commitment to moving forward with the marijuana banking bill, which includes criminal justice provisions. He called the effort to repair the damage of the war on drugs as a “moral obligation” for Congress.

The current makeup of Congress has led to some doubts about the feasibility of modest cannabis reforms. Senate Republicans have blocked a motion to move forward a bipartisan measure that would require studies on the medical potential for cannabis to help veterans suffering from chronic pain or PTSD.

In recent years, the SAFE Banking Act was approved in a largely bipartisan manner in the House. It’s been stuck in the Senate for years, under both Democratic leadership and Republican leadership.

Schumer stated last month that he is “disappointed,” that the so-called SAFE Plus cannabis reform package did not advance last year. He added that “we were close, but we ran into opposition at the last minute.” He also said that lawmakers will “continue to work in a bipartisan manner” in order to accomplish the task.

In the first months of the new Congress, the majority leader has met with Democratic members and Republican members to discuss marijuana reform proposals which might be able to garner bipartisan support this year.

Booker recently said that lawmakers are working to “resurrect the cannabis reform package“, acknowledging that the failure to advance a bank fix for the industry means “literally that hundreds of businesses will go out of business.”

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR, who is sponsoring a House version of SAFE Banking Act said that he believes it’s crucial that advocates and legislators align on any incremental proposal to end the war on drugs, warning that an “all or nothing” mentality.

The American Bankers Association also recently reiterated its call for passage the legislation. All 50 state chapters of the ABA did the same. Insurance and union organizations also wrote to Congress.

In recent weeks, Congress has received numerous other cannabis bills in addition to the banking legislation.

Bipartisan members of Congress, for example, recently introduced a bill that would mandate the automatic sealing criminal records for certain non-violent federal cannabis convictions.

Last month, House and Senate legislators reintroduced a bill to give a safe harbor for insurance companies who work with licensed marijuana business.

Rep. Brian Mast, R-FL, introduced legislation last week to protect Second Amendment rights for people who use marijuana legally in states. This would allow them to buy and possess firearms they are currently prohibited to have under federal law.

Last month, Joyce, along with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffreys (D-NY), filed a bill to help prepare the federal government to legalize marijuana. The measure directed the Attorney General to create a commission that would study cannabis and make recommendations on how to regulate it in a similar way to alcohol.